Bruised Knee

[Djonma]

A couple of weeks ago I managed to whack my kneecap really badly. Ended up at A&E (ER for the yanks) as NHS Direct (umm our health service has a phone line for questions, like "is this broken?" or "I'm really, really ill, do I see a doctor or wait it out with paracetamol?" that kinda thing) thought that I might have broken the kneecap, especially since my breathing was really shallow due to pain and they were worried about that aspect.

Anyway, had it x-rayed and it wasn't broken or fractured, just bruised the kneecap and the ligaments around it were a bit swollen.
They told me to take painkillers for a couple of days and it'd be ok.

At first it was fine; the morning after I walked around like nothing had happened, though that evening it hurt quite a bit.

It's nearly two weeks later (did it on the tuesday) and it's getting worse. The pain is now back to what it was when I had to go to A&E, and I'm having to keep it in a special knee brace I have for when I'm dislocating my kneecap a lot.
I don't really walk around much; I have the advantage of using a wheelchair when I go out, so I've been keeping the weight off it.
One problem is though that it hurts like hell when bent, and in the wheelchair my knees are bent, obviously.
I'm keeping it elevated, iced, and I even got some Zheng gu shui that I'm putting on it, but nothing's helping at all.
I'm probably going to go to the doctor again, any kind of injury is bad for me since my joints dislocate and because of other medical conditions, so it'll be good to get it checked properly, I might even get the physio to look at it. But why the hell is it getting so much worse?

Any good advive for a really bad knee, very gratefully accepted!

Djon Ma

[Firbolg]

I once bruised my ribs which took a couple of months to fully heal and the pain got a whole lot worse in the weeks following the injury before it started getting better.. I know someone else who had a similar experience with bruising so perhaps its not uncommon. Of course you should see a doctor (or call NHS Direct) for a qualified opinion.

[doc]

There's a diatribe here:

http://www.russbo.org/vb/showthread.php?t=368

Well, I don't want to give medical advice over the internet. But two basic things.

One, as your medical condition is unknown to us, and should remain so, treatment modalities are going to be decided upon based upon your pre existing condition and your medications.

Two, be aware of the fact that the knee is a complicated area. Injuries sometimes require arthroscopy for proper diagnosis. MRI is a damn good tool to see what's going on. But, even then, sometimes you can have small stress fractures in the patella or femur / tibia, which are difficult or impossible to see by normal x ray. Cartilaginous tears can also be very difficult to diagnose.

Remember one thing: these injuries take time to heal, sometimes on the magnitude of months. Rest, physical therapy, early immobilization when needed, and proper use of analgesics are all called for.

Feel better. Take it easy. Don't push it, everything heals with time.

[doc]

I once bruised my ribs which took a couple of months to fully heal and the pain got a whole lot worse in the weeks following the injury before it started getting better..

Sounds like you may have had a small fracture or a cartilaginous dislocation These things take time to heal, and can be especially painful, because of the constant movement of the area.

When my knees go bad (cartilage injury), sometimes it takes months for it to get better. Cartilage does not repair as fast as other tissues.

[daodejing]

Dit da jao topically for now, zheng gu shui when there is no longer any bruising or significant swelling.

Yun nan bai yao internally to reduce bleeding.

And everything doc said.